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The 12th Annual Teach-In debates 2014 Elections

Date Released: Mon, 19 May 2014 13:00 +0200

The 12th Annual Teach-In Public Lecture Series will commence today (19 May 2014) and take place at Barratt Lecture Theatre during lunch for an hour (13h00-14h00) until Friday (23 May). Top political analysts in the country will discuss this year’s theme entitled ‘The 2014 Elections’.

The Annual Teach-In brings a particular issue of interest and concern in the public sphere to the attention of the University and the wider community of Grahamstown. The public lectures are hosted by the Rhodes University Department of Political and International Studies.

“With this year being election year it was an obvious topic for this year’s Politics Teach-In,” says Dr Sally Matthews, a senior lecturer in the Department of Political and International Studies.

She says the Teach-In is a means of exposing students to national debates and to views that they don’t necessarily hear in the classroom. However, it is not only open to students but any members of the community are invited to attend.

“I think the students love it when some ‘big names’ they have heard on TV come to speak and perhaps they give a little more attention to their views than they do to their ordinary lecturers who they see very often,” says Dr Matthews.

Ms Munusamy’s talk will discuss how Mr Malema led a breakaway from the ANC and within eight months was able to establish a nationwide presence and secure 6.35% of the national vote.

This talk will answer questions such as, How did Malema pull this off, what makes the EFF tick and where is it heading? What does the rise of the EFF mean for South Africa?

Mr Ebrahim Fakir, Manager of the Political Parties and Parliamentary Programme at the Electoral Institute for South Africa (EISA) will talk about the “SA Elections 2014 – Continuity or Change?” on Wednesday (21 May).

Mr Fakir’s presentation will be based on the nature of the pre-election political environment and will focus briefly on the results and what he imagines the implications for society will be.

Thursday will see Ms Sisonke Msimang, a writer and activist present, “Don’t touch me on my #swag: race, elections and (be)longing in South Africa.”

This presentation encompasses a race, class and gender analysis of the 2014 election campaign, and looks at what this means for nation and democracy building in the coming five years.

A Teach-In favourite old faithful Mr Eusebius McKaiser, Political Analyst, Broadcaster, Lecturer, Writer and Author will close the 2014 Teach-In series with his provocative talk entitled, “What the heck is going on inside the DA? And who will win the fighting?”

Mr McKaiser has recently published a book, Could I vote DA?. He will examine the DA after the elections and speak about Ms Lindiwe Mazibuko’s resignation, Mr Mmusi Maimane going to Parliament, and about Mr Tony Leon advising Ms Helen Zille to step down.

He will also examine factions over identity lines and answer the question why over a million black voters chose to vote for EFF over the DA.